Electrical contacts of the type including a plurality of axially aligned fine wires held in a sleeve are old and known in the prior art, as shown in the Brush Contact Patent. Such a contact typically includes in the forward portion thereof a plurality of wires axially aligned, each with an acutely angled forward end portion and held toward the rear of the wires within an electrically conducting holder by a crimp. An insulated electrical wire is coupled to the fine wires by removing the end portion of the insulation to expose a central conductor at the end thereof, inserting the exposed conductor into a rear portion of the conducting holder and crimping the sleeve to maintain the conductor in place and in electric circuit relationship with the sleeve.
Preparing the insulated conductor to make a prior art electrical contact is time consuming and adds manufacturing expense and steps.
Such a prior art electrical contact for a connector as disclosed in the Brush Contact Patent also requires an electrically conducting holder or sleeve to make an electrical path between the conductor at the rear and the forward fine wires of the contact. In some applications, a holder made from a non-conducting material or a low conductance material would be more advantageous, as a lower manufacturing cost might result by substituting a material such as plastic.
The process of individually inserting a conductor into each contact and separately crimping the contacts in place is also undesirable in that it requires handling of each conductor separately. Since there are generally a number of electrical contacts in an electrical connector assembly, the handling and installing of each conductor separately can be expensive.
The foregoing and other limitations of the prior art presents problems and costs in the manufacturing of electrical connector assemblies and contacts.